Panelists

​

• Donna Hazard, General Partner and Board Member, SeaAhead

  • ​Donna Hazard is General Partner and Board Member at SeaAhead, a Boston-based bluetech hub spurring innovation, building and investing in sustainable, high- growth, ocean-related companies through an accelerator, angel investor group, and corporate and venture advisory services. She leads SeaAhead's bluetech investor network, the Blue Angels.

​

• Janis Searles Jones, CEO, Ocean Conservancy

  • ​Janis Searles Jones is CEO of Ocean Conservancy, a nonprofit working internationally to solve the greatest challenges facing the ocean. Jones is fluent in marine conservation and policy, with deep expertise in Alaska, the Arctic and the intersection of ocean and climate issues, specifically offshore oil and gas, clean-ocean energy, zero-emissions shipping and ocean-plastic pollution. 

​

• Gracie White, Director, Global Ocean Investments at Conservation International Ventures LLC

  • Gracie White is Director of Global Ocean Investments at Conservation International Ventures LLC where she supports early-stage companies within emerging markets through a blend of debt and equity investment products. Her background has primarily centered around sustainable aquaculture, with a primary focus on seaweed, and she previously worked for Hatch Blue, NOAA, and the CREO Syndicate.

 

• Moderated by Laura Francis, Sea Forward Fund Director 

  • Laura Francis is Director of Sea Forward, an organization that supports innovative and effective solutions in the ocean space. She worked at NOAA Channel Islands National Marine Sanctuary for 27 years in education and outreach before turning her focus to ocean philanthropy and impact investing.

 

Additional Resources

Expand your understanding of topics shared in the webinar.

​

Learn more about ocean impact and investing

• Check out The Ocean Impact Navigator from the 1000 Ocean Startups Coalition

• Learn about investableoceans.com, an investment hub that seeks to bring market-based capital to the oceans.

• See the Ocean Finance Handbook from the World Economic Forum

• Read how ocean-based startups are riding a wave of investments in an article from newsgroup Impact Alpha

• Learn about using multi-donor funds as a creative architecture for collaborative, catalytic capital

​

Learn more about Sea Forward

• Listen to Laura’s recent Seaze podcast interview, Ocean Philanthropy 101 (Episode 24)

• Visit our website 

• Read the Women in Ocean Impact press release

 

Learn more about the panelists' organizations 

• Conservation International Ventures

  • Read the CIV 2023 Impact Report

  • Learn about CIV's philanthropic businesses accelerator program for female blue economy entrepreneurs in emerging markets. 

• Ocean Conservancy

  • Read the 2023 Ocean Conservancy Impact Report​

• SeaAhead

  • Read SeaAhead’s 2023 Impact Summary

  • Check out two whitepapers SeaAhead published on investment opportunities offering positive impact and returns. The first paper addresses Aquafeed Innovation and the second addresses Data Collection & AI in the Blue Economy.